Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The commotion surrounding Excellent Era was still going on, but Excellent Era was big, not nearly as easy to take over as Team Everlasting. Even disregarding everything else, just the God-level account, Battle God One Autumn Leaf, was probably more valuable than all of Team Everlasting's assets put together. Plus, Excellent Era had been a part of the Alliance for years, so they had their own training grounds.Their own stadium that had been built over the years of the Alliance's rapid development. Excellent Era was massive. There was nothing that you could just buy on a whim. Public opinion and the support of the fans had reawakened its inner value. This might have elicited interest, but it also made a purchase harder. Considering this inner value, Excellent Era's worth was even greater.
However, what was good for buyers was that Excellent Era's boss, Tao Xuan, had been pushed to a point where he had to sell Excellent Era. Team Excellent Era had the chance continue continue to grow and create profit in anyone's hands except his, for that would turn it into a sinking ship with the loss of fan support.
With the path clear, how the future transactions concerning Excellent Era would go was up to the buyer and seller to negotiate. From popular opinion, most believed that Excellent Era wouldn't be completely bought out as a whole. After all, Excellent Era had a lot to it. Such a large investment would require several years of good business, and that was only if Excellent Era could swiftly return to the Pro Alliance and compete as a viable champion team.
However, there would always be risks in competition. If Excellent Era had another bad year and couldn't get back to the Alliance, then that would really be something to weep about. Therefore, popular opinion said that Excellent Era would most likely sell some of its basic hardware to decrease its overall value and risk. That way, someone would be willing to take it on.
How far negotiations had gone so far, no one knew, and the playoffs for the ninth season of the Pro Alliance was fast approaching.
After testing things out at the Challenger League, the Alliance eventually decided that the playoffs for the Pro Alliance would be conducted using the headcount rules of the offline Challenger League tournament matches. Additionally, after asking obtaining the opinions of multiple parties, the scoring method was set as a point for every opponent killed. Whoever had more points would be the victor.
Apart from that, another large change was made to the rules. The new playoffs wouldn't be decided through the sum of the points of each team for two rounds of matches. Instead, the Alliance would use the overall victory of each individual round to make a judgement. The victor would be decided best two of three. That meant it had changed from needing to fight two rounds to possibly three.
Without a doubt, this was a change for the better from both competition and economic viewpoints, and the reason this change could be made was because of the use of the new rules.
The old rules split a round into three parts, individual competition, group arena, team competition. Under the situation where the team competition took up the majority of the points, the overall victory could be decided by two parts and the group arena would lose its purpose. However, if the points of the team competition were lowered, the victory could be decided with just the individual competition and group arena, and there might not be a reason to hold the team competition.
The Alliance didn't want any of these situation to happen, and the new rules would prevent any of the aforementioned situations from occurring. And if the headcounts of the two sides were tied at the end, then that could be dealt with through overtime, so it wasn't a problem. With that, the two best of three rules would be implemented.
Then, amidst the enthusiastic promotion by the Alliance, the playoffs came closer and closer, once again taking center stage in the Glory circle. The members of the eight teams that had made it to the playoffs all appeared onstage, raising support for their teams. Now that they had gotten here, any team had the reason to anticipate getting that trophy sitting at the pinnacle.
However, when being interviewed, all eight teams had been asked questions regarding Happy. Even if those questions had been asked long ago, the media didn't rest. For someone who didn't understand the backstory to this, they would probably think that Happy was a hidden bBoss in the playoffs or something upon reading these interviews. Otherwise, why else would every interview for every team mention the name Happy?
"What are your opinions on Ye Xiu's return?" In the interview with Tyranny, all the reporters were willing to ask Han Wenqing this question.
"I eagerly await to meet him on the stage." As a long-time rival, Han Wenqing's welcome to Ye Xiu was still with his fists.
"As another player who retired and returned, is there anything you would like to say to Ye Xiu?" Zhang Jiale was also a focus in the interview.
"He accomplished something I had thought impossible. For that, I truly admire him," Zhang Jiale replied.
"What are your thoughts on Ye Xiu's return?" In the interview with Blue Rain, the same question appeared.
"The skill level of the entire Alliance will rise a stage," Blue Rain's captain Yu Wenzhou expressed.
"Don't you think that without Excellent Era, it would be more of a loss?" A reporter asked.
"Hey, don't worry too much about that. Does Excellent Era's skill level not rely on their players? With their situation, there's little chance their players would stay. I think they'll find an opportunity to transfer and we'll definitely see them in the Alliance again. How about we guess where they'll go? For example, Sun Xiang, I think…"
"Next question." The press officer from Blue Rain cut Huang Shaotian off stoically. He had gotten used to doing this because of how many times he had to in the past. Huang Shaotian's feelings? What was that? Never heard of it.
"Hm...…." In the Samsara interview, Zhou Zekai gave a "hm" before falling into a lengthy silence when faced with the question of Ye Xiu's return.
It wasn't until the atmosphere of the place had gone a little strange that he abruptly spoke up and added two words, "very difficult."
"You mean to say, that it'll be very difficult to deal with Ye Xiu?"
"Yes." Zhou Zekai nodded.
Ok, this was Zhou Zekai. Being able to get this sort of response was already good enough. If they wanted to know more opinions, it'd be better to just go and find their vice-captain Jiang Botao.
The eight teams all had different responses. The media had gotten what they wanted. However, in truth, these eight teams definitely wouldn't put their focus on Ye Xiu, who they would only see next season. The fight for the season nine championships was about to start and the first match was the gossip-filled match between Tyranny and Hundred Blossoms. The first round would be held on Hundred Blossom's turf and the tension was obvious. Even today, there were many Hundred Blossoms players who couldn't accept Zhang Jiale's decision to join Tyranny after returning.
When Zhang Jiale appeared, thunderous booing instantly flooded the stadium.
Zhang Jiale was emotionless. This wasn't the first time he had gotten this sort of reception. During the regular season, he had already received such treatment in this stadium, the very stadium that he had fought in for years, the stadium he was oh so familiar with.
Now that it had come to the playoffs, Zhang Jiale was facing a similar situation to Ye Xiu and had to fight to the death with his original team.
What was he feeling? Zhang Jiale had been asked such a question in the pre-match interview. He didn't answer because he didn't know what he was feeling. He had once thought he could deal with this calmly, but now that it came to it, he found that it wasn't so simple.
Amidst the boos, Zhang Jiale silently walked towards the preparations room.
"Go die!" A bellow rang out from the spectator stands and they saw a group of enraged Hundred Blossom fans throw filled drink bottles down. This life and death elimination match had scattered their rationality.
It was good that they were rather far away and the closest weren't very accurate. Zhang Jiale hurriedly dodged this attack. The security guards had already split into two teams, one team went to stop these fans and the other rushed over to protect Zhang Jiale from further harm.
The troublemaker fans had been sent out of the stadium. No matter what, this sort of act would be condemned heavily.
Zhang Jiale quietly watched the fans being escorted out and some still had their heads turned to curse at him. Zhang Jiale sighed, before realizing that someone next to him was staring at him.
Zhang Jiale turned his head to look and paused for a moment before squeezing out a strained smile. "Little Le…"
Little Le was one of the security guards at Hundred Blossoms, and had been one when Zhang Jiale was still there. At the same time, he was also a loyal fan of Hundred Blossoms and the entire team was very familiar with him.
"Welcome back," Little Le said, walking closer, but his face was unsmiling.
Zhang Jiale wasn't sure how to react for a moment, about to say something when Little Le suddenly sent him a punch.
The stadium was rather chaotic right now and no one expected that even security guards would do something so irrational. Little Le was quickly restrained by his fellows. He didn't struggle at all, just gazed at Zhang Jiale without a hint of a smile.
"Let him go…"
Zhang Jiale could still feel bile coming up from the punch, but managed to squeeze out the sentence.
The guards knew the severity of what Little Le had done, but if Zhang Jiale wasn't going to press, then there was room to maneuver. They all rather obviously favored Little Le and hurriedly let him go upon hearing Zhang Jiale's words, but kept him back to prevent him from acting rashly again.
"To be a champion, I will win!" Zhang Jiale threw these six words down before turning and leaving. None of Tyranny had clearly seen the chaos that had erupted just now, only seeing the security grabbing another person, guessing that something must have happened. However, Zhang Jiale simply shook his head and didn't say much more. Everyone knew that this match was very difficult for Zhang Jiale and didn't pry.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." After sitting in his spot for a long while, Zhang Jiale suddenly spoke up. Though his teammates didn't ask, he could still feel the worry they had for him. The team was a whole. He needed to use his attitude to disperse their worries and get everyone focused on the match.
"We must win." After taking a deep breath, Zhang Jiale stood amidst the boos.
In the public announcement just now, the players for each side had been announced. The first to go up for Tyranny was Zhang Jiale.
After several minutes, when he walked down from the stage, Team Tyranny had already gained two points. Zhang Jiale had successfully accomplished a one versus two in the group arena, only falling against the third person.
For the championship, I have to be strong and keep winning!
With this in mind, Zhang Jiale returned to Tyranny's bench amidst the boos with his head high and back straight.
The first day of the playoffs saw Team Tyranny winning their away game against Team Hundred Blossoms, 11 to 7. The MVP that day was the Team Tyranny player, Zhang Jiale. Account: Spitfire, Hundred Dazzling Blossoms.
Chapter 1063: SemifinalistsTranslator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
In the post-match interviews, Zhang Jiale was faced with many more sensitive questions as the MVP and Hundred Blossom's ex-captain. Zhang Jiale was composed, only expressing his determination to win the championships.
For the championships, Zhang Jiale mercilessly crushes Hundred Blossoms...
The media, who always liked to twist things a little, had to write much drama into the topic. The match of the second day arrived amidst the clamour and discussion.
This match wasn't as dramfilled as Tyranny versus Hundred Blossoms. Samsara still had Zhou Zekai as their ace and core, while Void, as always, had their Ghostblade Duo of Li Xuan and Wu Yuce. In the end, Zhou Zekai's fast shooting broke through Void's Ghostblade Duo and Team Samsara won their away game 11 to 8 against Void.
On the third day, it was Wind Howl versus Misty Rain. Wind Howl's Zhao Yuzhe desperately wanted to become the Alliance's number one Elementalist. In the Rookie Challenge, he had tried to imitate his captain, Tang Hao, challenging Misty Rain's ace, Chu Yunxiu. Unfortunately, he lost in the end. The two teams were paired in the playoffs and, for Zhao Yuzhe, this was another good opportunity to prove himself. Unfortunately for him, he was far from being the star of the show. Tang Hao was undoubtedly the star of Wind Howl. They also had number two player Fang Rui. As the representative of playing dirty, how dirty he could play each match was always something people eagerly anticipated seeing.
For Misty Rain, Chu Yunxiu had never been an extremely competitive person, so there wasn't all that much to see about Zhao Yuzhe challenging her . Zhao Yuzhe's ambitions had never aroused much attention. It was the beautiful twin sisters, Shu Keyi and Shu Kexing, that Misty Rain had dug up during the winter season who gained the most public attention. Team Misty Rain didn't give them two new characters. They used the two male Sharpshooters that they had used originally in the game, Lower Your Head and None Dare Attack.
In the end, Team Misty Rain had three female players, yet not a single female character appeared on the field. The three characters played by the female players, Windy Rain, Lower Your Head and None Dare Attack, were all male characters.
Of course, after being equipped with pro level equipment, the strength of the two new characters had skyrocketed. In the latter half of the season, the twins had more and more chances to appear on the field. The two were both doing their best to get used to the pro circle and enter a better state. Everyone was wondering. Would these two become Misty Rain's ace card in the playoffs?
Not disappointing everyone's hopes, Shu Keyi and Shu Kexing ended up being a part of the starting lineup in the team competitionTeam Competition for their opening match of the playoffs. Unfortunately, they didn't become the aces to Misty Rain's victory, because Misty Rain seemed to have forgotten that Wind Howl had Fang Rui, a man who would die if he didn't play dirty, and playing dirty was definitely the way to suppress noobs. The twins' first journey in the playoffs wasn't a smooth one and Team Misty Rain lost 9 to 11 to Wind Howl in their home game.
Three matches of the first round of playoffs had gone by and what resulted was a flood of visiting teams winning home teams. It was on the fourth day that this status quo was finally broken. In the much-anticipated Tiny Herb versus Blue Rain match, the home team, Team Blue Rain, finally won back some face for home teams and won 11 to 9 against the visiting team, Team Tiny Herb. These two teams were already archrivals. Now that both had spectacular rookies, this match was full of ups and downs, a wonderful experience for the audience. This match was definitely the most spectacular match amongst the opening round matches.
With the opening round coming to curtain call, next up was the second round. In the end, the first match of the second round was a totally unexpected victory for Team Hundred Blossoms who managed to win against Team Tyranny in a close call 11 to 9.
Team Hundred Blossoms hadn't had any sort of obvious advantage throughout the match, but gave a performance full of persistence and desperation. The entire team was feeling the pressure. In this season, they hadn't started out well and were plagued by criticism. It was good that they were able to catch the last bus to the playoffs after the big update. This achievement filled the team and fans with hope that they might be able to advance in the playoffs. Yet, the very first match was coincidentally against the team that Zhang Jiale had joined, the team that public opinion said was the most likely to be the champions, Team Tyranny. The fans all hoped that they would be shown their place.
But while hopes and dreams were wonderful, reality was cruel. In the first round, they lost their home game, bringing the Hundred Blossom fans back to that chilling season opening. Especially since Zhang Jiale had gotten the MVP for that match, that made things unbearably painful. However, Team Hundred Blossoms didn't give up. They managed to surge up under this pressure and counter with a heavy blow to Tyranny on Tyranny's home turf. There were no weak teams in the playoffs. The Hundred Blossom fans were proud of their team. Their tie with Tyranny was enough to make many media groups write the headlines of the following day as "The flourishing resurgence of a Hundred Blossoms".
No such reversal appeared in the two matches of the next two days. Samsara defeated Void in their home game, Wind Howl took down the visiting Misty Rain, and the two teams were set as semi-finalists.
Team Void always had continuously managed to enter the quarter-finals, but would also alwayscontinuously get stopped there. Their Dual Linking Ghost Boundary duo was a classic pair in the Glory circle, but this pair never managed to achieve a convincing accomplishment. Should Team Void make some greater adjustments to achieve a breakthrough? This was something many people started discussing after this match.
As for Misty Rrain, they might have've lost the match, but their fans gained hope. This hope came from the twins. Though these twins were girls like Chu Yunxiu, their demeanor on the battlefield definitely wasn't like some maiden-in-distress. The two had open and strong personalities and great cooperation. Team Misty Rain had often been seen as lacking in a headstrong temperament because their ace was female, but now this might change because of these other two female players. Misty Rain's tactical system was changing rather obviously. This pair of twins might very well become the future core of Misty Rain, if they developed their skills well. As for Chu Yunxiu, she was changing from a DPS based Elementalist to a supportpporting role. Perhaps this role was better suited to her personality. Then, Misty Rain's other All-Star level player, Li Hua, was a sneak attack and assassination expert. People were eagerly anticipating Misty Rain's future developments.
Then, on the fourth day, it was Tiny Herb versus Blue Rain again, but this time they were competing on Tiny Herb's turf. This time, it was Tiny Herb who had used their home advantage to wipe out Blue Rain. From this, it was clear that the two teams were very close in skill level, having to eventually use the home advantage to influence the scales of victory.
Tyranny versus Hundred Blossoms and Tiny Herb versus Blue Rain both needed a third match to decide the victor. The third round of competitions would continue on the same home turf of the second round matches. That meant, it would still be the higher ranked Tyranny and Tiny Herb's home games. However, for the third round, the home advantage would be greatly reduced.
The home team would only have a familiar environment and the support of local fans, but this round, they would no longer have the right to choose their maps.
The right to chose the map was the greatest home advantage in Glory competitions and the Alliance considered how to make this as fair as possible. They were giving the team with a higher rank a part of the home advantage, but this advantage couldn't be too influential on the final victor. In the past, it was just the situation of away then home that gave them an easier time taking control of the situation. Now, the third round had been handed to them, but the right to choose the map was too big of an advantage, so they took away this right. The map for the third round would be randomly chosen from the map bank that had been prepared for the playoffs. These maps were designed specifically for the playoffs by the developers and info on them wouldn't be leaked at all. That meant that the third round would be played with the teams having zero knowledge of the map.
This sort of match would definitely be a test of the adaptability of the two teams.
The first match of the third round was Tyranny versus Hundred Blossoms again. The experience veterans had helped them greatly on this sort of unfamiliar map. Having one senior was like having a treasure, and Tyranny had three, no? In the Ggroup aArena, this sort of advantage wasn't evident, but in the team competitionTeam Competition, the veterans understood the map better and were better able to find opportunities in battle than Hundred Blossoms. Team Hundred Blossoms might be persistent, but they were still suppressed by Team Tyranny. In the end, Tyranny won 11 to 8.
Hundred Blossoms lost.
ButYet this time, they weren't the target of any blame.
Tyranny's strength this season was clear as crystal to anyone with eyes. Though the fans hoped for more from Hundred Blossoms, but they were satisfied that the match had gone this far. Team Hundred Blossoms had found their rhythm. So long as they continued down this path, they believed that victory would descend on them. The team and the fans both bid the playoffs goodbye with this sort of confidence in their hearts.
As for the other match after this, it was Tiny Herb versus Blue Rain. One of the two powerhouses was doomed to be eliminated in the opening round. This was quite the shame. In the end, Team Tiny Herb managed to win this match. What had influenced the scales of victory, in the end, wasn't the tiny home advantage that Team Tiny Herb held. In the match, Team Blue Rain's rookie, Lu Hanwen, made a serious mistake which became the turning point for the match.
This optimistic and energetic young man finally shed tears in the post-match interview, causing the reporters to be unable to blame him at all. No one would forget, this was a teenager who wasn't even fifteen yet. But would Blue Rain be hindering his growth, letting such a young player bear the weight of such a heavy responsibility?
"Next time, I'll be stronger!"
No one would've thought that in the end, Lu Hanwen would wipe away his own tears and say this to the reporters with determination.
He was truly an amazing rookie!
The reporters were surprised. They had seen plenty of players be finished for good after experiencing a setback, especially those that had dragged down their team in important matches like this. But this young man wouldn't. He would be regretful enough to shed tears for his mistake, but this didn't dishearten him. He turned this all into motivation to get stronger.
A player like this, full of positivity, wouldn't just get stronger, but someday, he'd become a role model for all pro players, wouldn't he?
Everyone had full confidence in this in that moment.
The quarterfinals of the playoffs came to a close there. Tyranny, Samsara, Wind Howl, Tiny Herb. The top four of the regular season had all defeated their opponents, reaching the semifinals.
Chapter end
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